Dissent in John Locke: Lessons for Contemporary States in Africa

Abstract

This paper examined John Locke‟s Notion of Dissent in relation to Contemporary States in Africa. Adopting analytic method, the paper argued that violent dissent protest and most forms of disputes in Africa are the result of the bad governance that the people have faced and continue to encounter to this day. The paper observed that that African leaders practice autocracy in the guise of democracy and when faced with organized dissent which is the pillar upon which democracy is built, they routinely employ various kinds of coercive force in the hopes of subduing these challenges rather dialoguing with dissenter. This situation is gradually pushing African towards adopting John Locke‟s dissent notion of violent resistance in their demands for equity justice and fairness from the leaders. With the continent reeling from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and freedom of expression under threat in all the countries, the paper concludes that African leaders should learn to respect the right to dissent in their socio-political engagement with the citizens because never in history of Africa has the use of violence either by the government to stop dissenting activities or dissenters adoption of violence approach has resulted in lasting peace, liberty, and social justice.